Round 4 rules question

[Mark Griffin]

If I'm going to place a haunt or a trap in my encounter, how do I indicate precisely where it is on the map?

[Owen K. C. Stephens]

With a short description.

[Mark Griffin]

Seems like it would be very difficult to specify the exact square with a short description. It would be possible to say a specific corner or side of a room. Can we assume the top of the map is north?

[Taylor Hubler]

I did not see rules on scale, but I may have missed them. Can we state the scale of the map as being each square = 10 ft square, or some other scale?

[Owen K. C. Stephens]

The short answer is that which is not forbidden or against Paizo standards is allowed.

So I'd recommend calling out the top of the map is north rather than assuming it (others may assume differently), but you may do so since the rules say nothing that can reasonably be interpreted as forbidding it.

The rules do not require a specific scale, so you may declare one.

It's your word count, use it wisely. You are all in the same boat in that regard, and wise choices will go a long way to determining the winner.

[Rose Stack]

Do contestants really have to reference page numbers for monsters? What if they don't own a particular bestiary, even though the monster is on the PRD?

[The Raven Black]

"Altogether, your entry must be at least 1,300 words and no more than 1,400 words. You may divide this word count as you see fit between describing the Location and the Encounter (for example, you may spend 300 words describing an old castle Location, and 1,200 words describing a specific Encounter in the castle)."

1,200 + 300 = 1,500 > 1,400 words.

Likely a typo, but it would be nice to have a confirmation of the upper limit on words ;-)

[frank gori]

Stephen Stack wrote:

Do contestants really have to reference page numbers for monsters? What if they don't own a particular bestiary, even though the monster is on the PRD?

Personally I'd use links as they do not touch your word count and make referencing easy for voters and it is not against the rules.

[Mikko Kallio]

frank gori wrote:

Stephen Stack wrote:

Do contestants really have to reference page numbers for monsters? What if they don't own a particular bestiary, even though the monster is on the PRD?

Personally I'd use links as they do not touch your word count and make referencing easy for voters and it is not against the rules.

While links are probably ok as you said, I strongly recommend including the page numbers even if you use links. Why? Because the "shorthand" stat block template and the examples in the round 4 rules has them. I don't think leaving them out would result in a DQ (unless you're very close to the limit of 1,400 words and adding them would push you over the limit) but it would make you look like you can't follow instructions, much like wrong formatting in round 1 or round 3 would.

To answer Stephen's question, if you're serious about freelancing, buy the books you need (or at least the PDFs). If you're not quite so serious about it or can't buy them right now, borrow the books from a friend, or maybe go to a local gaming store once you've decided what monsters you're going to use and just write down the page numbers.

I hope that helps.

[Owen K. C. Stephens]

Stephen Stack wrote:

Do contestants really have to reference page numbers for monsters? What if they don't own a particular bestiary, even though the monster is on the PRD?

Then they should do whatever they would do to solve that same problem if it came up when writing a project for Paizo.

We only have two rounds left to see the quality of a Superstar's work. The winner of this contest gets a contract to write an adventure for us, and that adventure must meet the Paizo style in how things are done.

Requiring contestants to show they can do that doesn't feel at all unreasonable to me.

[Owen K. C. Stephens]

The Raven Black wrote:

"Altogether, your entry must be at least 1,300 words and no more than 1,400 words. You may divide this word count as you see fit between describing the Location and the Encounter (for example, you may spend 300 words describing an old castle Location, and 1,200 words describing a specific Encounter in the castle)."

1,200 + 300 = 1,500 > 1,400 words.

Likely a typo, but it would be nice to have a confirmation of the upper limit on words ;-)

"Altogether, your entry must be at least 1,300 words and no more than 1,400 words."

Even if an example is off, this range is listed more than once in the rules.

[Rose Stack]

Owen K. C. Stephens wrote:

Stephen Stack wrote:

Do contestants really have to reference page numbers for monsters? What if they don't own a particular bestiary, even though the monster is on the PRD?

Then they should do whatever they would do to solve that same problem if it came up when writing a project for Paizo.

We only have two rounds left to see the quality of a Superstar's work. The winner of this contest gets a contract to write an adventure for us, and that adventure must meet the Paizo style in how things are done.

Requiring contestants to show they can do that doesn't feel at all unreasonable to me.

It's certainly a reasonable request, but I do still have some concerns about accessibility. I do appreciate what resources are available. In any case, I think a larger discussion about this is important, but I don't think this is the right thread for it. Thank you for your response.

[Curaigh]

frank gori wrote:

Stephen Stack wrote:

Do contestants really have to reference page numbers for monsters? What if they don't own a particular bestiary, even though the monster is on the PRD?

Personally I'd use links as they do not touch your word count and make referencing easy for voters and it is not against the rules.

R4 Rules wrote:

Playtest

Paizo encourages voters to playtest one or more of the Round 4 encounters and post their playtest results as comments on the encounter to better inform all voters about those encounters. Voters are encouraged to post about their playtests before voting ends October 18, 2015.

For this reason I would appreciate links. Playtesting generally means one person has to answer questions from half a dozen other persons, & often has to do so on a time constraint. Chances are good I will play test by post (PTbP) which I use links for. But links are secondary to the books especially if I am a GM.

[Jacob W. Michaels]

Curaigh wrote:

Chances are good I will play test by post (PTbP) which I use links for. But links are secondary to the books especially if I am a GM.

Actually, might be worth prepping some characters now for PBP games. Can probably do them at 6th level, which would make for average to epic encounters...

[Garrick Williams]

You could get some 7th level PFS pre-gens for the PCs. They're in the downloads section I think. Would save a ton of time. That would certainly make for a doable playtest for encounters of CR 5 through 9. That fits perfectly because modules generally have encounters with a CR range of APL +- 2.

[Robert Thomson]

Might be good to just grab level 4 pregens as well if you are going to test an encounter under CR9. CR+4 is very common in modules and scenarios. +5 is probably a little much if you are playing through CR9 stuff though. Those are usually the epic fights.

[Curaigh]

NPC codex. Encounters are hard to test though, because they happen in a bubble. Even if the CR is two above the APL, going in with full resources is a different experience than might happen if the encounter was a part of something larger.

But let's wait until voting closes on monsters to focus any further shall we? :)

[Alanya]

Just bring Harsk! (Kidding... Or am I?)

[Monica Marlowe]

The Raven Black wrote:

"Altogether, your entry must be at least 1,300 words and no more than 1,400 words. You may divide this word count as you see fit between describing the Location and the Encounter (for example, you may spend 300 words describing an old castle Location, and 1,200 words describing a specific Encounter in the castle)."

1,200 + 300 = 1,500 > 1,400 words.

Likely a typo, but it would be nice to have a confirmation of the upper limit on words ;-)

So, using your best judgment is part of participating in the contest. There have been 9 seasons now and some of the rules sets get edited and reused, when in doubt - ask a question, if you don't get an answer in a timely enough manner, use your best judgment and err on the side of caution.

[Walter Sheppard]

So I'm going to continue to use my best judgment with my submission, but I do have a question about clarity as there appears to be a conflicting statement in the rules.

"Can I do a location that contains just one encounter, such as a campsite ambush?"
"Yes, but that wouldn't be a very exciting entry."

I assume this is a carry over from last years contest, because otherwise it doesn't make much sense. Since we're instructed to make a single encounter and use the maps provided. Or if it isn't, the Battlefield is just a really bad idea to base off of.

[Owen K. C. Stephens]

"Can I do a location that contains just one encounter, such as a campsite ambush?"
"Yes, but that wouldn't be a very exciting entry."

There's nothing incorrect about the statement. An entire dungeon could be a single encounter, such as an abandoned structure with only one thing of interest in the entire building.
Though you are right calling that out (as opposed to detailing one encounter in a location that encourages other encounters) would be an extra-terrible choice to make.
...

Unless you had some amazing idea that would make it awesome, in which case we'd all be very impressed.

[Walter Sheppard]

Oh, it'll be awesome all right ;)

[Grumpus]

The sample template in the rules for including monsters has:

(Bestiary ##) but in most of your adventure path products it uses (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary ##). Wondering if including "pathfinder rpg" is necessary or not?

Should the contestants use the example given or the actual standard way paizo presents encounters?

heres how it appears in the rules:
Arachnogoblins (4) CR 1/2
XP 200 each
hp 6 each (Bestiary 156)
Melee 4 short swords +1 (1d4/19-20)

[Mark Griffin]

Generally speaking, even if it's wrong, once it's in the provided template it's considered correct (along with what's actually correct). Something similar happened with the round 1 template this year if I recall correctly.

And I'm not saying the template is wrong, just that it probably doesn't matter.

[Garrett Guillotte]

Grumpus wrote:

The sample template in the rules for including monsters has:

(Bestiary ##) but in most of your adventure path products it uses (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary ##). Wondering if including "pathfinder rpg" is necessary or not?

I believe you're correct. The shortened name is generally used for a chapter's second and following references to a product, but stat blocks use the full product title.

If someone gets knocked for following the provided template by using the shortened product name or for following real-world Paizo style by using the full name, that'd be disappointing. It's an important detail as it affects word count, and it's unfortunate that the template conflicts with actual use.

[Owen K. C. Stephens]

It's the same template used in 2015, 2014, and 2013.

The rules specifically state "The Sample Location and Encounter section shows how to format your encounter."

I don't see why there is any lack of clarity here.